Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Shi Huade was a little annoyed. The artillery battalion had been stuck in this place for three days. Ever since they had entered the Feldunba Province, he had led the artillery battalion under the protection of the Royal Guards as the vanguard of the army. They had been invincible, and had never encountered a fortress that could withstand the bombardment of the artillery. Often, after the artillery bombardment, the enemy would flee while the Royal Guards would chase after them and successfully occupy the enemy's defensive positions.
The Commerce Alliance had long been prepared for the Norton Family's attack, but they did not know from which direction the Norton Family would attack. The commanders of the Commerce Alliance's armed forces had originally predicted that the Norton Family would attack the southern provinces. As those provinces had been annexed by the Commerce Alliance during the war with the Southern Kingdom a few years ago, they had not been given a large number of nobles, and were still under the direct jurisdiction of the Commerce Alliance.
Furthermore, during the three years of war at the Mana Hill Plains, the Commerce Federation had forcibly recruited a large number of new soldiers and rations from these southern provinces. As a result, these southern provinces had been plundered by the Commerce Federation without sparing any resources. The defenses of these southern provinces were weak, and there was no way that they could withstand the assault of the Norton Family.
The commanders of the Commerce Alliance's armed forces believed that they could use the strategy of luring the Norton Family's armed forces deep into the southern provinces while they were attacking the southern provinces. Then, they would find a way to cut off the Norton Family's supply routes and force the Norton Family to retreat. This would not only cause a small setback, but it would also buy time for the Commerce Alliance to recover its strength. They might even be able to set up an ambush during the retreat and win a few small battles. This would also increase the confidence of the newly formed Commerce Alliance's armed forces.
However, the commanders of the Commerce Alliance's armed forces did not expect that the Norton Family's armed forces would not attack the southern provinces, but the Feldunba Province, which was the territory of the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce. This surprised the commanders of the Commerce Alliance's armed forces, and they began to guess what the Norton Family's intention was. The most reliable guess was that the Norton Family's target this time was not their territory, but rather, their goal was to wipe out the Trade Unions.
As the leader of the Trade Union's armed forces, Duke Camberlet let out a long sigh of relief when he heard that the Norton Family's armed forces had launched an attack on the Feldunba province. Although the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce had taken over the Feldunba province as its territory for less than five years, the few gold and silver mines located in the hilly areas of the Feldunba province. The Mayflower Chamber of Commerce had already built many fortified fortresses in the hilly areas, ready for defense.
Duke Camberlet believed that even if the Norton Family had cannons, they would not be able to take down Feldunbar easily. At the same time, he would be happy to see the Mayflower Merchant Guild and the Norton Family suffer losses on both sides. After all, Grand Duke Nicholas of the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce was very interested in the chair he was sitting on. He gathered a group of second and third-rate chamber of commerce leaders and adopted an aggressive strategy against him. They accused him of being responsible for the decline of the Commerce Alliance and their crushing defeat in the battle against Brewia City.
If not for the support of the Ford Merchant Guild, Livord Merchant Guild, and Visia Merchant Guild, Duke Camberlet might really have been ousted by Duke Nicholas. Unfortunately, these three Merchant Guilds had all lost their own territories, and their strength was greatly reduced. They supported Duke Camberlet to take back their territories and take revenge on the Andenac Kingdom and the Norton Family. However, they were all greatly weakened, and although they were loud, they could not provide any real help to Duke Camberlet. Instead, the Mayflower Merchant Guild, the Peterson Merchant Guild, and the Chicard Merchant Guild, which still had their territories, were in trouble.
The Mayflower Merchant Guild wanted to take this opportunity to surpass the Double-Headed Dragon Merchant Guild and oust Duke Camberlet. The Peterson Merchant Guild was neutral and impartial, and did not help either side. However, they seemed to be tired of the war, and hoped to sign an armistice and restore peace. This view was supported by many Merchant Guilds in private. For example, the Miladas Merchant Guild, which owned a hotel, was a staunch anti-war supporter. It could not be helped. Since the war started, their family Merchant Guild had been losing money for several years. There was no profit at all, and they could only extort from the poor people in the Merchant Guild's territory.
As for the Chicard Merchant Guild, in Duke Camberlet's eyes, it was a complete traitor. Unfortunately, the Trade Union had not recovered from the defeat in Brewia City, and could not find the time to deal with the Chicard Merchant Guild. At times, Duke Camberlet wondered if he should first reach a temporary peace with the Norton Family, and then concentrate his forces to deal with the traitor, the Chicard Merchant Guild. This would relieve the Trade Union of its worries, and also let the wavering Merchant Guilds see the fate of traitors, as a warning to future generations.
But before Duke Camberlet could make up his mind, the Norton Family's armed forces launched another attack on the Trade Union. This time, they attacked the Mayflower Merchant Guild's territory, Feldunba Province. Although Duke Camberlet was gloating, he still remembered that he was now the highest official of the Trade Union, and the commander of the Merchant Guild's armed forces. He responded immediately. Besides mobilizing troops to prepare for the staff, Duke Camberlet also told Duke Nicholas how to deal with the cannons. At the same time, he ordered the Mayflower Merchant Guild to delay the Norton Family's armed forces in the hilly area for a month and a half, so that reinforcements could arrive at the frontline.
…
The cannons rumbled, and thunderous echoes came from the mountain ridges.
Schwald held a telescope and stared closely at the enemy's walls. Unfortunately, other than a cloud of dust, there was no sign of the walls collapsing. He waved his hand in annoyance and gave the order to stop the cannons. Then he asked a few staff officers beside him, "How much longer until Lord Ovis gets here?"
"Lord Schwald, the Thunderbolt Catapult is behind the Freedom Alliance's armed forces. They are the last on their journey. It will take at least four to five days for them to get here. As for Lord Ovis, we sent a messenger to find him yesterday. I think he will be here tomorrow … "one of the staff officers replied. But what he said was not good news.
"Sigh, if I had known, I would have let His Highness keep those diehard members of the Invincible Fleet imprisoned, or even killed them all. I shouldn't have let them be ransomed …" Schwald muttered to himself as he walked down the mountain with a few staff officers.
"Lord, are we not going to fire anymore?" one of the staff officers asked.
"Let's save the gunpowder." Schwald shook his head helplessly. "You have seen the effects of the cannons. Almost 50 cannons fired at the same time, but the Lindsay Mountain City is still standing in front of us. Even if it is damaged, it can be repaired in a night. In addition, the terrain is dangerous, and we are attacking from the rear, unable to attack at close range. Right now, the only way is to wait for Lord Ovis to come and see if we can use the catapults to throw the explosives into the city. After blowing up the catapults and ballistae in the city, we can use the infantry to attack. That's the only way we can capture this mountain city with the least casualties … "
"Lord, this is very difficult to do." Another staff officer who was thinner and weaker said, "I have calculated the angle and distance. In order to throw the projectiles into the mountain city, the catapults have to advance about 150 meters. However, the catapults and ballistae in this Lindsay Mountain City cover an area of about 300 meters. We have already paid the price of dozens of casualties to understand this point. Moreover, the Lindsay Mountain City is located on high ground. Apart from our cannons that can attack from 400 meters away, the catapults can't throw anything that far … "
Schwald rubbed his chin in distress. "There is nothing we can do now. We can only wait for Lord Ovis to arrive. You have all seen it. The enemy has piled up sandbags all around the walls of Lindsay Mountain City. Our cannons can only send up waves of dust when bombarded. They can't attack the walls at all. This is definitely a method provided by the sailors of the Invincible Fleet who were ransomed. During the Battle of the Romani Sea, they used flour bags in the hold of their ships to force their way close to our family's fleet. Now, they are using this method to defend against our cannons.
Our cannons can only fire upwards from here. There are at most 50 cannons deployed here. You have all seen the effects of the attacks over the past two days. The projectiles are all hitting the sandbags and can't reach the city. Apart from wasting gunpowder, it is useless. The soldiers can't get close to the mountain city either. The only thing we can do now is to think of a way to throw the explosives in and blow up the city. Only then can we occupy this mountain city. Why don't you think of a better idea? “
The staff officers all shut up. It wasn't that they couldn't think of another way to attack the city, but that the terrain of the Lindsay Mountain City they were facing was too dangerous. If they were on a plain, they could think of more than ten ways to attack the city. However, they were in a hilly area with countless cliffs and valleys. Taking a detour would be a waste of time. There was no need to even think about taking a detour here. That was just wishful thinking. There was no other way other than to attack from the front.
For example, the Lindsay Mountain City was actually located on a large stone hill. Right now, they were not facing the main gate of the castle, but only a side wall. However, this side wall blocked the attack of the cannon battalion. The reason was simple. This side wall faced the main road leading to the main gate, which was also the main road leading to the inner parts of the Feldunbar Province. The garrison of the Mayflower Trading Company had set up a large number of catapults and ballistae on top and behind the wall, effectively blocking the main road and stopping the advance of the Norton Family's armed forces.
To put it simply, there were two loaves of bread, one large and one small. On the large loaf of bread was the Lindsay Mountain City, while on the small loaf of bread was a winding road. The large loaf of bread and the small loaf of bread were next to each other. In order to reach the Lindsay Mountain City, they had to pass through the side wall on the small loaf of bread and make a big turn to reach the main gate of the mountain city. Then, they had to pass through the mountain city to reach the other parts of the Feldunbar Province. Between the small loaf of bread and the large loaf of bread, apart from the main gate, there were deep valleys below it. For example, between the main road and the side wall of the mountain city, there was a ravine 50 to 60 meters wide. The mountain city was also more than 20 meters higher than the main road.
In other words, if the Norton Family's armed forces wanted to attack the main gate of the Lindsay Mountain City, they had to first pass through the main road on the small loaf of bread. When faced with the long-range attacks of the guards on the side wall of the mountain city, they would not be able to fight back at all. Furthermore, the guards had piled up sandbags outside the side wall, effectively blocking the bombardment of the cannons. This was the first time since the Norton Family's armed forces had entered the Feldunbar Province that the cannons' attacks were ineffective. The Lindsay Mountain City had successfully blocked the advance of the Norton Family's armed forces.
"Guerrilla tactics have failed, so they're going to turn into turtles!" Laurist said with a bitter smile when he heard the news of Schwald's unfavorable attack. Perhaps the Commerce Alliance did not have cannons like the Norton Family's armed forces, but they had learned from their mistakes and came up with a way to deal with the cannons' attacks. Piling up sandbags was a simple idea that effectively blocked the cannons' attacks. Before the invention of development bullets and the mastery of curve shooting, the bronze cannons that the Norton Family's armed forces were currently equipped with could only be used as a direct siege weapon. Occasionally, they could also use grapeshot to deal with the charging enemies.
Ever since they had entered the Feldunbar Province, the Mayflower Merchant Guild's first countermeasure was to use their high-end assault tactics against the cannons. It was as if they believed that once the cannons were destroyed, the Norton Family's armed forces would lose their ability to attack. However, the Norton Family's armed forces were already prepared. Redi and Theseus were each in charge of a cannon battalion. After the Mayflower Merchant Guild lost two Grandmaster Swordsmen and three Gold Knights, they no longer attacked the cannons. Instead, they used guerrilla tactics against the cannons to reduce the number of casualties.
A funny thing happened. A Grandmaster Swordsman from the Commerce Alliance led four Gold Swordsmen to ambush one of the cannons that was resting at noon. They killed a portion of the soldiers and chased away the rest of the Norton Family's soldiers. More than ten of the bronze cannons were destroyed and became useless. At this time, a Gold Swordsman opened up a sealed wooden barrel. Inside the barrel were many gray silk packages of the same size. The packages were filled with black granules.
"What are these?" The Gold Swordsman asked as he took a torch and stabbed it into the barrel …
With a loud bang, the Grandmaster Swordsman and the four Gold Swordsmen were obliterated.
The Trade Alliance's high-end combatants were not cabbages that could be harvested in the market. Another batch of them could be harvested. The battle at Brewia City had already caused the Commerce Alliance to lose more than half of their elite forces. Now, the Mayflower Merchant Guild had lost another three Grandmaster Swordsmen and eight Gold Swordsmen. On the other hand, the Norton Family's armed forces had only lost forty cannons and three to four hundred soldiers. In terms of quantity, it seemed like the Mayflower Merchant Guild had made a profit. However, in terms of quality, the Mayflower Merchant Guild had suffered a great loss. From then on, the Mayflower Merchant Guild no longer used their elite assault tactics.
For more than twenty days, the Norton Family's armed forces had destroyed the fortresses that the Mayflower Merchant Guild had set up in the hills. It was only when the Mayflower Merchant Guild received a letter from Duke Camberlet that the sandbags could withstand the attacks of the cannons that the Norton Family's armed forces were able to hold back the Norton Family's armed forces at Mount Lindsay.
… …
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